Ealaiontoir
Ealaiontoir God to the Strainseiri, Druids and Hedge Witches, Ealaiontoir is commonly simply called "the Creator." Followers of the Creator believe this deity lacks a gender while encompassing all possible genders. The Creator can take the form of any creature or be without form. The Creator can give life or wipe it out. The Creator's faithful believe that xe created a vast world of heavens, stars and lands, where the gods and then life came to be. At some time in the past the crimes of the Daoine were so great that the Creator wept and turned hir eyes from the land. Xe retreated to the North and fell into a great sleep. The Creator has not returned since, but hir divine children came and gathered up the Daoine to whisper lies in their ears, telling them there was no creator but them. The Daoine believed them and learned the weak magic of these lesser gods. The Daughters of Ealaiontoir diminished in their ability without the Creator to teach them and much was lost. They were forced to send their sons away to live among the Daoine, lest the sin with their sisters be repeated. The Hedge Witches strive to recover what was taken from them by the sins of their ancestors, but rarely manage more than a handful of spells. There is a prophecy that the Creator will return again: When the Rat flies While the Wolf dies When Goats will weep While Swine will sleep With the Horses freed While the Falcons bleed With the Cats humble While the Dragons rumble Ealaiontoir awakens. The Book of Kamaria Recently, tales of the Book of Kamaria have begun spreading across Aitbheth. This book allegedly speaks of the reawakening of the Creator and many secrets from hir. Some of the text is quoted below. From the Shadow of Death : ...and when I awoke from the shadow of death, the Creator stood before me with a mother's smile. At Hir side was Llahm, the Great God, and He spoke: The cat risked everything out of hope. Hope that she could influence a future queen and make her kingdom a better place for the downtrodden. : The Creator spoke: And the princess was guided by the faith of a child. : Then Xe turned Hir wrath upon the Dragon: Your oathbreaking that you fear so much is the only reason you are here. You passed the first test by the letter but not the spirit. You spared the knight out of debt rather than valuing his life. You lamented that you could not kill others in his place, for their terrible crimes of taking you to the one place you have longed above all others to be. I gave mercy because I was moved by what you risked to try to save the cat, but did you deserve it? You place debt above empathy. Did you do all of this for gold? No. You did it for something equally worthless, something just as arbitrarily given value. : And the Creator raged at honor and debt and laws without souls. The Creation : ...The Creator spoke: Every life has worth. Equal worth. There is no debt. Only the bonds of life that should tie everyone to start with. : Llahm gave His hand to the dragon, to bring him to his feet. The Great God spoke: You were not the first people. Just the first ones we made. We thought to improve on the faults of humanity. You would think of them as Daoine, but their blood flows through you all. : And the Rat dared question the gods: All of this is because you thought you could do better? : And the Rat Queen was bold and began to question the gods and doubt that they were what they said themselves to be. : The Creator told us: In the world before there were many gods, pulling the strings of their mortal puppets and building vast empires. A war broke out between the gods with all the people as their fodder. When nearly every last person was dead, they finally directed their attacks on one another. I blamed magic. As all My skill was in manipulating life, I took the blood of animals and the bones of the dead and recreated humanity in the Strainseiri. I thought if they lived close to the earth with all their potential for magic tied into shifting, then all the horrors from before couldn't happen again. Llahm built their minds as I built their bodies. We made thousands and set them on the land to live together in peace. : The Creator went on: Righana and Tep helped us in those days, but they were lonely and wanted their own creations. The power that makes us unaging makes us sterile. The Lord and Lady found a way to have children--though they would all be mortal--and began a family. The children were what you would call Daoine. They served the Strainseiri as Druids to limit their magic, but they felt demeaned and degraded by their Strainseiri mates for they could not shift. They turned to one another for comfort and Righana and Tep's children laid together. Their offspring hungered for power and used the magic they had learned against the Strainseiri. A new war began as the remaining gods that had been scattered began to take followers from Daoine. We fought for our children, but many died. And when peace again came to the land, the power was held by the inbred. We slept in our grief for two thousand years, until now when you awaken us. The Fight Against Corruption : ...The Dragon spoke: Power corrupts because power exists. Power exists because the desire for it is inside humanity. I will do all I can to serve you, and in so, I must make it clear that the ability to have ambition is the flaw, not magic. : The Daoine spoke next: Ambition is what keeps us alive. Ambition is what gives us mates and food and homes. Ambition creates wealth and cities and ambition drives progress. A man completely without ambition is a dead man. There will always be kings and peasants, gods and mortals. The problem lies in how power is used, not that it exists. : And I at last found my voice to speak: You see the hunger of power as being a trait of people themselves, instead of simply tools for survival. If you thought the primal nature of the Strainseiri would save them from Daoine flaws, I don't think you have ever experienced primal nature. The male Catkin who are most at peace with their animal sides are the ones who kill kittens without batting an eye. Animals lie and steal and rape and kill on a daily basis. I am certain your wisdom far exceeds my own, but I believe by looking too long into the hearts of people you have failed to recognize the whole of creation. We are not crueler than anyone else, simply better able to cause harm by using our wits. Yet that also gives us the tools to avoid suffering that animals cannot avoid. : And then the Creator asked the question, which is a great and simple question at once. Xe asked: How would you have anyone go against this primal nature and live, my cat? : I said: Compassion. Care for others as you care for yourself. Defend yourself or those you love, but recognize no right to revenge or to use another for pleasure or satisfaction without their willing it. : The question was turned to the others. The Dragon spoke first: The worst excesses of ambition are when people think there are no consequences. That they can hurt and rule without opposition. Perhaps if the gods struck down some of the darkest elements of cruelty, the others would curb their own darkest ambitions. I do not know if our nature is able to do good without fear of repercussion. : The Daoine spoke next: I would not assume to know better than the gods, Creator, nor do I envy the weight of these decisions. : And the Rat spoke: Nothing in creation is perfect. Perfection gives nothing. There are no trials, no struggle, no need to change or move. Maybe things being wrong is the right thing, sometimes. : The Rat Queen spoke not. The Creator questioned her: And what of you? Do you see a way to avoid evil in Daoine and Strainseiri and god alike? : And the Rat Queen said: Compassion as Kamaria said, but our flaws are part of life like Lore said. Perfection isn't part of life. All we can really strive for is better. Better than our parents. Better than when we were younger. Better than our worst impulses tell us. Not ideal. Just better. : And the Creator gave us the terrible burden: Children learn best through experience and triumph. This is why I asked you. Not because I think you are wiser, but because answering the question itself is a lesson. One you will all need, because a new immortal has risen. You are the ones who pay dearest in this sort of war. You must have the strength and moral guidance to keep from falling prey to him. You will be pushed to fight other mortals. You will have to make sacrifices and hard choices. If you aren't aware and questioning yourselves, you may end up being a force of evil yourselves. : And so I implore you, reader, to question yourself as well. Category:Strainseiri Category:Gods